World Health Organization, Data and dtatistics
Bangladesh
COUNTRY POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING GBV
Legal framework
! The Suppression of
Violence against Women
and Children Act of
Bangladesh came into force
in February 2000 and was
amended in 2003.
! The Law Commission of
Bangladesh has also
recently taken the initiative
of drafting a Bill on
domestic violence which is
an important step towards
the legal recognition of
domestic violence in
Bangladesh. The draft bill
not only recognizes
psychological violence in
the eyes of the law but
recommends that the
provision of counselling for
the victim and the
perpetrator should be
provided. The Bangladesh
Cabinet approved the
D o m e s t i c Vi o l e n c e
(resistance and protection)
Act 2010.
! The Constitution of the
P e o p l e ’s R e p u b l i c o f
Bangladesh guarantees the
equal rights of women and
men in all spheres of state
and public life. There is,
however, no specific law
relating to domestic
violence against women
though there are some other
laws which cover almost all
types of domestic violence.
! On 14 May 2009 a
judgement was declared to
prevent sexual abuse of
w o m e n a t t h e o ff i c e ,
educational institution and
all types of governmental,
nongovernmental, semigovernmental and any other
organization.
1
! The National Women’s
Development Policy – 2008
was announced by the
Government on the eve of
International Women’s Day
on March 7. It set aside onethird of parliamentary seats
for women and suggested
arrangement for direct
election to the reserved
seats. It also suggested
appointment of an adequate
number of women, if
necessary, under the related
section of the Constitution
to the highest-level of
Cabinet Division and the
policy-making level of the
administration. This 2008
policy was revised by the
current government and the
new policy ensuring gender
equality in society was
launched on 8 March 2011.
! The Acid Crime Prevention Act 2002, the
Acid Control Act 2002, and the Speedy Trial
Tribunal Act were passed in 2002.
hospitals as a priority area. One of the four
key areas to be addressed under this initiative
is gender-based violence.
! Bangladesh acceded the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) on 6 November, 1984 and
subsequently ratified the Optional Protocol on
CEDAW in 2000. Bangladesh is also a
signatory to the Beijing Declaration and
endorsed its Platform for Action (PFA).
! As part of the WFHI, a comprehensive
national level protocol was developed by the
directorate of health services of the Ministry
of Health and Welfare (MOHFW) and
UNICEF. It deals with GBV as one of the
four thematic areas.
! There is a GBV multisectoral programme led
by the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, with the Ministry of health as an
important implementing partner.
Policies, strategies and programmes
! The National Health Policy (draft) recognizes
the significance of GBV under the topic of
emerging issues and violence (particularly
against women) is being considered as major
challenge for the country.
! The Government of Bangladesh approved the
National Policy for Advancement of Women
in 1997 and also developed a national action
plan for the advancement of women.
! The Gender Equity Strategy (2001)
developed by the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MOHFW), identifies
violence against women as an important issue
in the backdrop of high levels of violence
against women.
! The Joint UN Programme to Address
Violence against Women (VAW) in
Bangladesh aims to achieve the Millennium
Development Goal 3 (MDG3) and will be
implemented over a three year period
(January 2010 – December 2012). This
programme brings together 11 relevant
ministries of the Government of Bangladesh
and nine UN agencies.
! The programme implementation plan of the
Health, Nutrition and Population Sector
Programme of MOHFW has identified the
Women Friendly Hospital Initiative (WFHI)
at primary, secondary and tertiary level
COUNTRY SITUATION OF GBV
The salient findings were:
Violence against women is a widespread social
problem that causes mental stress, physical
suffering and death. One fifth of all women are
reported to experience physical abuse at home
and at the workplace.
! Prevalence of lifetime violence (physical
violence) by the husband was about 40%
among ever-married women and prevalence
of lifetime sexual violence ranged from 37%
to 50% 1 (Figure 1).
I. The Multi-country Study on Women’s Health
and Domestic Violence against Women,
sponsored by the World Health Organization
carried out a cross-sectional survey of women
aged 15–49 years in the capital city Dhaka
and in the rural area Matlab. A total of 1603
interviewees from Dhaka and a total of 1527
interviewees from Matlab were covered. 1
1
! Prevalence of current physical violence (in
the past 12 months) ranged from 16% to 19%
and prevalence of current sexual violence (in
the past 12 months) ranged from 20% to 24%1
(Figure 1).
These findings will serve as the baseline for
further work to be undertaken on improving
information systems on VAW.
Country Findings. Bangladesh. WHO Multi-country study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. WHO 2005
2
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Sexual violence
Physical violence
Physical or sexual viloence, or both
62
53
40
42
37
50
30
20
19
Lifetime violence
Dhaka (Urban)
[n=1603]
Lifetime violence
Matlab (Rrurral)
[n=1527]
24
32
16
Current violence*
Dhaka(Urban)
[n=1603]
Current violence*
Matlab (Rural)
[n=1527]
Figure 1: Percentage of women who experienced violence by an intimate partner, among ever-partnered women aged
15-49 years, Bangladesh, 2005
Source: Country Findings. Bangladesh. WHO
Multi-country study on Women's Health and
Domestic Violence against Women. WHO 2005
Physical violence meant the woman had been:
slapped, or had something thrown at her; pushed
or shoved; hit with a fist or something else that
could hurt; kicked, dragged or beaten up; choked
or burnt; threatened with or had a weapon used
against her.
II. The Bangladesh Demographic and Health
Survey (BDHS), 2007 collected information
from ever-married women aged 15-49 years
from both rural and urban areas. 2
Sexual violence meant the woman had: been
physically forced to have sexual intercourse; had
sexual intercourse because she was afraid of
what her partner might do; been forced to do
something sexual she found degrading or
humiliating.
The salient findings were:
! Nearly one half of ever-married women
(48.7%) have ever experienced some form of
physical violence by their husbands in their
current or most recent marriage2 (Figure 2).
“Ever-married” meant only women who had
ever been married.
! Among the ever-married women, 17.8%
reported ever having been physically forced
to have sex by their husbands 2 (Figure 2).
* Current violence means violence in the past
12 months
100
Percentage
90
80
70
60
50
40
Sometimes**(n=4181)
Often**(n=4181)
Often or sometimes**(n=4181)
48.7
30
20
10
0
Ever (n=4467)
14.8
18.4
3.6
Any physical violence
17.8
2.6
8.4
11
Physically forced her to
have sexual intercourse
13.2
0.8
3.9
4.7
Both physical and sexual violence
Figure 2: Forms of spousal violence among ever-married women age 15-49 years who have experienced various forms
of violence by their husband, ever and in the 12 months preceding the survey, Bangladesh, 2007
3
The survey measured spousal violence (physical
and sexual violence) with a shortened and
modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) (Straus,
1990).
2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton,
Maryland, USA: National Institute of Population
Research and Training, Mitra and Associates, &
Macro International.
** Restricted to currently-married women in the
past 12 months. Husband refers to the current
husband for currently-married women and the
most recent husband for divorced, separated, or
widowed women.
Among currently-married women who report
experiencing physical violence in the past 12
months, the most common reasons cited were
violence without any reason (31.1%), financial
crisis (27.1%), wife neglecting the household
chores (20.7%), wife disobeying the husband
(15.7%) and wife refusing sex (15.3%) 2
(Figure 3).
Source: National Institute of Population
Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and
Associates, and Macro International.2009.
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
Percentage
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
itho
ny
ut a
w
31.1
27.1
20.7
15.7
15.3
14.4
11.5
7.4
5.5
4.9
4.6
d
d
ion
ren
lice
sue
sex
isis
ises
ores
loye
sban efused
miss
child wery is y or ma Food cr
al cr hold ch
r
u
i
e
d
c
h
p
e
emp
n
d
r
t
o
v
n
a
t
e
e
c
n
u
n
u
e
D
s
i
e
y
f
E
l
o
u
F
e
d
wi
neg
ban
d ho
with
isob
Hus
ent
wife
ecte
ife d
l
w
g
w
e
e
n
wif
wife
on
reas
11.6
ers
Oth
Figure 3: Reasons for spousal violence among currently-married women who report experiencing physical violence* in
the past 12 months, [n=771], Bangladesh, 2007
* The percentages sum up to more than 100
percent because respondents may cite multiple
reasons.
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton,
Maryland, USA: National Institute of Population
Research and Training, Mitra and Associates,
and Macro International.
Source: National Institute of Population
Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and
Associates, and Macro International. 2009.
COUNTRY ACTIVITIES IN COMBATING GBV
GWH-SEARO conducted a survey in October
2009 among the gender focal points in the WHO
country offices of Member states using a
2
questionnaire containing 23 questions under 4
clusters. The findings of the survey for
Bangladesh are listed below.
National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and Associates, and Macro International.2009. Bangladesh
Demographic and Health Survey 2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton, Maryland, USA:National Institute of Population Research and
Training, Mitra and Associates, and Macro International.
4
12
Scale *
6
3
5
4
3
2
0
Total no. of indicators
8
8
4
Country situation
10
10
Legislations/Policies/
Programmes
Resources
Research
5
2
Evidence**
Figure 4: Country activities in combating gender-based violence in Bangladesh, 2009
* The scale represents country-specific situation
plotted against the maximum rating from 4
clusters of indicators:
(3) Research and
(4) Evidence
** A lower score reflects lower evidence of GBV
(1) Legislation/policies/programmes
(2) Resources
Table 1: Country activities in combating GBV
S.No. Category
1.
Activities
Legislation/policies
The country has legislation, a national plan of action and
and programmes on GBV multisectoral action plan on GBV.
!
2.
Resources for combating
GBV
The implementation of the Joint Programme to address
Violence against Women is built around a three-pronged
strategy including (i) activities aimed at adopting and
implementing policies aimed at preventing VAW and
protecting victims of violence; (ii) changing behaviours
related to violence against women/girls; and (iii) protecting
and helping victims of gender-based violence. WHO is
involved in working with partner UN agencies and the
MoHFW in improving information systems on VAW.
The country has a rich resource for combating GBV.
The following resources are available:
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Workshops/training on GBV.
Activities on gender mainstreaming for prevention of GBV.
Data collection system for GBV at hospitals and police
stations.
One-Stop Crisis Centre services (OSCC) for GBV
prevention and handling in health facility.
UNICEF's Women's Friendly Hospital Initiative.
Code of Practice on violence in the service sector (ILO).
IEC materials on GBV for health providers, schools and
communities.
Facilities for helping the victims of GBV in police stations,
social support groups, shelter homes, counselling centres
and among self-help groups.
5
S.No. Category
Activities
3.
Research has been conducted on the cause and consequences
of GBV.
4.
Research on GBV
Evidence on GBV
!
The country has findings on GBV, findings related to the
cause of GBV and findings related to women's health due
to GBV.
!
WHO study in Dhaka and Matlab in 2001
!
UNFPA's studies (i) Baseline survey for assessing attitudes
and practices of male and female members and in-laws
towards GBV; and (ii) An Assessment of male attitude
towards violence against women.
GBV in < 15 year-olds and GBV in >
_ 15 years-olds are
presented in the country.
!
Reported number of VAW cases in the media (newspapers
and TV).
Additional Information
! Dowry-related issues and patriarchal family
systems have been found to be the causes of
GBV.
Victims of GBV
! Spouse and family members have been found
to be victims of GBV.
Age of GBV victims
! GBV affects less than 15 year-olds in
physical form.
Causes of GBV
! Two root causes of VAW are (i) the
unfavourable policy and legal frameworks, its
implementation and enforcement and (ii) the
social and individual attitudes and
behaviours.
_ 15 year-olds in physical form.
! GBV affects >
PARTNERSHIP IN COMBATING GBV
Government initiatives
!
Appointment of a Women In Development
(WID) focal point within each ministry to
ensure inclusion of gender concern in all
line ministries.
!
Setting up of committees and statutory
commissions for women’s advancement.
!
Setting up of special cells for women at the
police headquarters and at selected police
stations.
6
!
Setting up of a Central Cell in the Ministry
o f Wo m e n a n d C h i l d r e n A ff a i r s ,
Department of Women’s Affairs and in the
National Women’s Organization.
!
An Anti-VAW cell established in the
Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs
to monitor and dispose of all complaints.
!
Under the GBV multisectoral programme
led by the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, with the Ministry of Health as an
important implementing partner, seven
One-stop Crisis Centres (OSCCs) have
been established at the tertiary level
medical college hospitals.
!
Operational and training manuals on
GBV: The Multisectoral programme on
Violence against Women coordinated by the
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
has developed an operational manual called
Operational Manual for One-Stop Crisis
Centre in Medical College Hospital and is
available at the OSCCs.
!
Training Manual for doctors on VAW and
the Training Manual for Nurses on VAW
has been developed by the Directorate
General of Health Service of the MOHFW
with UNFPA in 2006.
!
Wo r k s h o p / s e m i n a r o n g e n d e r
mainstreaming for sensitization of health
care professionals to gender issues and
programme design of health services and
Training of trainers on caring for/handling
victims of VAW undertaken by the Gender,
NGO and Stakeholder Participation Unit
(GNSPU) of the MOHFW with WHO in
2010/2011.
!
Gender, NGO and Stakeholder Participation
Unit of MOHFW with the support of
BIRPERHT, a government-run NGO and
WHO has initiated a training programme on
capacity development in handling victims
of VAW for doctors and nurses working at
the field level.
!
addressing four key areas one of which is
“management of violence against women
victims”. While providing care to victims,
the initiative attempts to institutionalize the
care of GBV in to the health system.
Regular monitoring and mentoring is being
carried out by Naripokkho.
!
Barriers in implementing the law : A
presentation on scope and opportunities for
multi-donor approach to address GBV
presented some of the barriers to effectively
implementing the laws. Some of the
barriers are: absence of regulations to
implement the legislation; lack of clear
procedures for law enforcement and healthcare personnel; attitudes of law
enforcement officers that discourage
women from reporting cases; lack of
adequate and consistent gender sensitivity
training for officials responsible for
implementing legislation and policies; high
dismissal rates of cases by police and
prosecutors; high withdrawal rates of
complaints by victims; low prosecution and
conviction rates and practices that deny
women legal control over their lives, such
as detaining women for their "protection"
without their consent.
Civil society organization initiatives
Women Friendly Hospital Initiatives:
The Director-General of Health Services in
collaboration of a national NGO,
Naripokkho, with funding from
organizations such as UNICEF has
launched an initiative named Women
Friendly Hospital Initiative (WFHI).The
initiative aims to address the high MMR by
7
!
A workshop titled "Roles of Media to
address Domestic Violence" was organized
in 2009 by the Bangladesh National
Women Lawyer’s Association (BNWLA).
It was recommended that journalists should
be trained on gender discrimination and
domestic violence. It was also
recommended that an independent
Domestic Violence Act should be enacted
to recognize domestic violence as an
offence.
!
Naripokkho in partnership with government
agencies has begun to pilot screen tools in
hospitals to detect and reach out to women
facing violence.
!
!
Shelter facilities for women victims of
violence are being run by The Bangladesh
Mohila Parishad, Utsho Bangladesh and
Protibha Bikash Kendra.
Large scale campaigns against all forms of
violence and discrimination against girls
and women are being carried out by The
Sammilita Nari Samaj, Promoting Human
Rights and Education in Bangladesh
(PHREB), etc.
Country Contact Information:
Monica Driu Fong (Ms)
Nurse Administrator
Focal Point for Gender
WHO Country Office, Bangladesh
Office: +880-2-8614653
GPN : 27230
E-mail: fongm@searo.who.int
!
The Ahsar Alo Society as part of the
PLHIV network in organizing divisional
workshops with HIV infected and affected
women with support from UNAIDS.
UN Partnerships
!
The Joint Programme in Addressing VAW
brings together nine UN Agencies (UNFPA,
UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNWomen, UNESCO,
WHO, ILO, IOM, and UNDP) as “One
UN” to address collectively GBV in
Bangladesh.
Produced by:
Gender, Women and Health (GWH)
Department of Family Health and Research
World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia
World Health House, Indraprastha Estate
Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110002
Phone: 91 11 23370804, Ext 26301
Fax: 91-11-23379507, 23379395, 23370197
Email: suchaxayap@searo.who.int
COUNTRY POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING GBV
Legal framework
! The Suppression of
Violence against Women
and Children Act of
Bangladesh came into force
in February 2000 and was
amended in 2003.
! The Law Commission of
Bangladesh has also
recently taken the initiative
of drafting a Bill on
domestic violence which is
an important step towards
the legal recognition of
domestic violence in
Bangladesh. The draft bill
not only recognizes
psychological violence in
the eyes of the law but
recommends that the
provision of counselling for
the victim and the
perpetrator should be
provided. The Bangladesh
Cabinet approved the
D o m e s t i c Vi o l e n c e
(resistance and protection)
Act 2010.
! The Constitution of the
P e o p l e ’s R e p u b l i c o f
Bangladesh guarantees the
equal rights of women and
men in all spheres of state
and public life. There is,
however, no specific law
relating to domestic
violence against women
though there are some other
laws which cover almost all
types of domestic violence.
! On 14 May 2009 a
judgement was declared to
prevent sexual abuse of
w o m e n a t t h e o ff i c e ,
educational institution and
all types of governmental,
nongovernmental, semigovernmental and any other
organization.
1
! The National Women’s
Development Policy – 2008
was announced by the
Government on the eve of
International Women’s Day
on March 7. It set aside onethird of parliamentary seats
for women and suggested
arrangement for direct
election to the reserved
seats. It also suggested
appointment of an adequate
number of women, if
necessary, under the related
section of the Constitution
to the highest-level of
Cabinet Division and the
policy-making level of the
administration. This 2008
policy was revised by the
current government and the
new policy ensuring gender
equality in society was
launched on 8 March 2011.
! The Acid Crime Prevention Act 2002, the
Acid Control Act 2002, and the Speedy Trial
Tribunal Act were passed in 2002.
hospitals as a priority area. One of the four
key areas to be addressed under this initiative
is gender-based violence.
! Bangladesh acceded the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) on 6 November, 1984 and
subsequently ratified the Optional Protocol on
CEDAW in 2000. Bangladesh is also a
signatory to the Beijing Declaration and
endorsed its Platform for Action (PFA).
! As part of the WFHI, a comprehensive
national level protocol was developed by the
directorate of health services of the Ministry
of Health and Welfare (MOHFW) and
UNICEF. It deals with GBV as one of the
four thematic areas.
! There is a GBV multisectoral programme led
by the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, with the Ministry of health as an
important implementing partner.
Policies, strategies and programmes
! The National Health Policy (draft) recognizes
the significance of GBV under the topic of
emerging issues and violence (particularly
against women) is being considered as major
challenge for the country.
! The Government of Bangladesh approved the
National Policy for Advancement of Women
in 1997 and also developed a national action
plan for the advancement of women.
! The Gender Equity Strategy (2001)
developed by the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MOHFW), identifies
violence against women as an important issue
in the backdrop of high levels of violence
against women.
! The Joint UN Programme to Address
Violence against Women (VAW) in
Bangladesh aims to achieve the Millennium
Development Goal 3 (MDG3) and will be
implemented over a three year period
(January 2010 – December 2012). This
programme brings together 11 relevant
ministries of the Government of Bangladesh
and nine UN agencies.
! The programme implementation plan of the
Health, Nutrition and Population Sector
Programme of MOHFW has identified the
Women Friendly Hospital Initiative (WFHI)
at primary, secondary and tertiary level
COUNTRY SITUATION OF GBV
The salient findings were:
Violence against women is a widespread social
problem that causes mental stress, physical
suffering and death. One fifth of all women are
reported to experience physical abuse at home
and at the workplace.
! Prevalence of lifetime violence (physical
violence) by the husband was about 40%
among ever-married women and prevalence
of lifetime sexual violence ranged from 37%
to 50% 1 (Figure 1).
I. The Multi-country Study on Women’s Health
and Domestic Violence against Women,
sponsored by the World Health Organization
carried out a cross-sectional survey of women
aged 15–49 years in the capital city Dhaka
and in the rural area Matlab. A total of 1603
interviewees from Dhaka and a total of 1527
interviewees from Matlab were covered. 1
1
! Prevalence of current physical violence (in
the past 12 months) ranged from 16% to 19%
and prevalence of current sexual violence (in
the past 12 months) ranged from 20% to 24%1
(Figure 1).
These findings will serve as the baseline for
further work to be undertaken on improving
information systems on VAW.
Country Findings. Bangladesh. WHO Multi-country study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. WHO 2005
2
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Sexual violence
Physical violence
Physical or sexual viloence, or both
62
53
40
42
37
50
30
20
19
Lifetime violence
Dhaka (Urban)
[n=1603]
Lifetime violence
Matlab (Rrurral)
[n=1527]
24
32
16
Current violence*
Dhaka(Urban)
[n=1603]
Current violence*
Matlab (Rural)
[n=1527]
Figure 1: Percentage of women who experienced violence by an intimate partner, among ever-partnered women aged
15-49 years, Bangladesh, 2005
Source: Country Findings. Bangladesh. WHO
Multi-country study on Women's Health and
Domestic Violence against Women. WHO 2005
Physical violence meant the woman had been:
slapped, or had something thrown at her; pushed
or shoved; hit with a fist or something else that
could hurt; kicked, dragged or beaten up; choked
or burnt; threatened with or had a weapon used
against her.
II. The Bangladesh Demographic and Health
Survey (BDHS), 2007 collected information
from ever-married women aged 15-49 years
from both rural and urban areas. 2
Sexual violence meant the woman had: been
physically forced to have sexual intercourse; had
sexual intercourse because she was afraid of
what her partner might do; been forced to do
something sexual she found degrading or
humiliating.
The salient findings were:
! Nearly one half of ever-married women
(48.7%) have ever experienced some form of
physical violence by their husbands in their
current or most recent marriage2 (Figure 2).
“Ever-married” meant only women who had
ever been married.
! Among the ever-married women, 17.8%
reported ever having been physically forced
to have sex by their husbands 2 (Figure 2).
* Current violence means violence in the past
12 months
100
Percentage
90
80
70
60
50
40
Sometimes**(n=4181)
Often**(n=4181)
Often or sometimes**(n=4181)
48.7
30
20
10
0
Ever (n=4467)
14.8
18.4
3.6
Any physical violence
17.8
2.6
8.4
11
Physically forced her to
have sexual intercourse
13.2
0.8
3.9
4.7
Both physical and sexual violence
Figure 2: Forms of spousal violence among ever-married women age 15-49 years who have experienced various forms
of violence by their husband, ever and in the 12 months preceding the survey, Bangladesh, 2007
3
The survey measured spousal violence (physical
and sexual violence) with a shortened and
modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) (Straus,
1990).
2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton,
Maryland, USA: National Institute of Population
Research and Training, Mitra and Associates, &
Macro International.
** Restricted to currently-married women in the
past 12 months. Husband refers to the current
husband for currently-married women and the
most recent husband for divorced, separated, or
widowed women.
Among currently-married women who report
experiencing physical violence in the past 12
months, the most common reasons cited were
violence without any reason (31.1%), financial
crisis (27.1%), wife neglecting the household
chores (20.7%), wife disobeying the husband
(15.7%) and wife refusing sex (15.3%) 2
(Figure 3).
Source: National Institute of Population
Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and
Associates, and Macro International.2009.
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
Percentage
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
itho
ny
ut a
w
31.1
27.1
20.7
15.7
15.3
14.4
11.5
7.4
5.5
4.9
4.6
d
d
ion
ren
lice
sue
sex
isis
ises
ores
loye
sban efused
miss
child wery is y or ma Food cr
al cr hold ch
r
u
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Figure 3: Reasons for spousal violence among currently-married women who report experiencing physical violence* in
the past 12 months, [n=771], Bangladesh, 2007
* The percentages sum up to more than 100
percent because respondents may cite multiple
reasons.
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey
2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton,
Maryland, USA: National Institute of Population
Research and Training, Mitra and Associates,
and Macro International.
Source: National Institute of Population
Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and
Associates, and Macro International. 2009.
COUNTRY ACTIVITIES IN COMBATING GBV
GWH-SEARO conducted a survey in October
2009 among the gender focal points in the WHO
country offices of Member states using a
2
questionnaire containing 23 questions under 4
clusters. The findings of the survey for
Bangladesh are listed below.
National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and Associates, and Macro International.2009. Bangladesh
Demographic and Health Survey 2007. Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calverton, Maryland, USA:National Institute of Population Research and
Training, Mitra and Associates, and Macro International.
4
12
Scale *
6
3
5
4
3
2
0
Total no. of indicators
8
8
4
Country situation
10
10
Legislations/Policies/
Programmes
Resources
Research
5
2
Evidence**
Figure 4: Country activities in combating gender-based violence in Bangladesh, 2009
* The scale represents country-specific situation
plotted against the maximum rating from 4
clusters of indicators:
(3) Research and
(4) Evidence
** A lower score reflects lower evidence of GBV
(1) Legislation/policies/programmes
(2) Resources
Table 1: Country activities in combating GBV
S.No. Category
1.
Activities
Legislation/policies
The country has legislation, a national plan of action and
and programmes on GBV multisectoral action plan on GBV.
!
2.
Resources for combating
GBV
The implementation of the Joint Programme to address
Violence against Women is built around a three-pronged
strategy including (i) activities aimed at adopting and
implementing policies aimed at preventing VAW and
protecting victims of violence; (ii) changing behaviours
related to violence against women/girls; and (iii) protecting
and helping victims of gender-based violence. WHO is
involved in working with partner UN agencies and the
MoHFW in improving information systems on VAW.
The country has a rich resource for combating GBV.
The following resources are available:
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Workshops/training on GBV.
Activities on gender mainstreaming for prevention of GBV.
Data collection system for GBV at hospitals and police
stations.
One-Stop Crisis Centre services (OSCC) for GBV
prevention and handling in health facility.
UNICEF's Women's Friendly Hospital Initiative.
Code of Practice on violence in the service sector (ILO).
IEC materials on GBV for health providers, schools and
communities.
Facilities for helping the victims of GBV in police stations,
social support groups, shelter homes, counselling centres
and among self-help groups.
5
S.No. Category
Activities
3.
Research has been conducted on the cause and consequences
of GBV.
4.
Research on GBV
Evidence on GBV
!
The country has findings on GBV, findings related to the
cause of GBV and findings related to women's health due
to GBV.
!
WHO study in Dhaka and Matlab in 2001
!
UNFPA's studies (i) Baseline survey for assessing attitudes
and practices of male and female members and in-laws
towards GBV; and (ii) An Assessment of male attitude
towards violence against women.
GBV in < 15 year-olds and GBV in >
_ 15 years-olds are
presented in the country.
!
Reported number of VAW cases in the media (newspapers
and TV).
Additional Information
! Dowry-related issues and patriarchal family
systems have been found to be the causes of
GBV.
Victims of GBV
! Spouse and family members have been found
to be victims of GBV.
Age of GBV victims
! GBV affects less than 15 year-olds in
physical form.
Causes of GBV
! Two root causes of VAW are (i) the
unfavourable policy and legal frameworks, its
implementation and enforcement and (ii) the
social and individual attitudes and
behaviours.
_ 15 year-olds in physical form.
! GBV affects >
PARTNERSHIP IN COMBATING GBV
Government initiatives
!
Appointment of a Women In Development
(WID) focal point within each ministry to
ensure inclusion of gender concern in all
line ministries.
!
Setting up of committees and statutory
commissions for women’s advancement.
!
Setting up of special cells for women at the
police headquarters and at selected police
stations.
6
!
Setting up of a Central Cell in the Ministry
o f Wo m e n a n d C h i l d r e n A ff a i r s ,
Department of Women’s Affairs and in the
National Women’s Organization.
!
An Anti-VAW cell established in the
Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs
to monitor and dispose of all complaints.
!
Under the GBV multisectoral programme
led by the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs, with the Ministry of Health as an
important implementing partner, seven
One-stop Crisis Centres (OSCCs) have
been established at the tertiary level
medical college hospitals.
!
Operational and training manuals on
GBV: The Multisectoral programme on
Violence against Women coordinated by the
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
has developed an operational manual called
Operational Manual for One-Stop Crisis
Centre in Medical College Hospital and is
available at the OSCCs.
!
Training Manual for doctors on VAW and
the Training Manual for Nurses on VAW
has been developed by the Directorate
General of Health Service of the MOHFW
with UNFPA in 2006.
!
Wo r k s h o p / s e m i n a r o n g e n d e r
mainstreaming for sensitization of health
care professionals to gender issues and
programme design of health services and
Training of trainers on caring for/handling
victims of VAW undertaken by the Gender,
NGO and Stakeholder Participation Unit
(GNSPU) of the MOHFW with WHO in
2010/2011.
!
Gender, NGO and Stakeholder Participation
Unit of MOHFW with the support of
BIRPERHT, a government-run NGO and
WHO has initiated a training programme on
capacity development in handling victims
of VAW for doctors and nurses working at
the field level.
!
addressing four key areas one of which is
“management of violence against women
victims”. While providing care to victims,
the initiative attempts to institutionalize the
care of GBV in to the health system.
Regular monitoring and mentoring is being
carried out by Naripokkho.
!
Barriers in implementing the law : A
presentation on scope and opportunities for
multi-donor approach to address GBV
presented some of the barriers to effectively
implementing the laws. Some of the
barriers are: absence of regulations to
implement the legislation; lack of clear
procedures for law enforcement and healthcare personnel; attitudes of law
enforcement officers that discourage
women from reporting cases; lack of
adequate and consistent gender sensitivity
training for officials responsible for
implementing legislation and policies; high
dismissal rates of cases by police and
prosecutors; high withdrawal rates of
complaints by victims; low prosecution and
conviction rates and practices that deny
women legal control over their lives, such
as detaining women for their "protection"
without their consent.
Civil society organization initiatives
Women Friendly Hospital Initiatives:
The Director-General of Health Services in
collaboration of a national NGO,
Naripokkho, with funding from
organizations such as UNICEF has
launched an initiative named Women
Friendly Hospital Initiative (WFHI).The
initiative aims to address the high MMR by
7
!
A workshop titled "Roles of Media to
address Domestic Violence" was organized
in 2009 by the Bangladesh National
Women Lawyer’s Association (BNWLA).
It was recommended that journalists should
be trained on gender discrimination and
domestic violence. It was also
recommended that an independent
Domestic Violence Act should be enacted
to recognize domestic violence as an
offence.
!
Naripokkho in partnership with government
agencies has begun to pilot screen tools in
hospitals to detect and reach out to women
facing violence.
!
!
Shelter facilities for women victims of
violence are being run by The Bangladesh
Mohila Parishad, Utsho Bangladesh and
Protibha Bikash Kendra.
Large scale campaigns against all forms of
violence and discrimination against girls
and women are being carried out by The
Sammilita Nari Samaj, Promoting Human
Rights and Education in Bangladesh
(PHREB), etc.
Country Contact Information:
Monica Driu Fong (Ms)
Nurse Administrator
Focal Point for Gender
WHO Country Office, Bangladesh
Office: +880-2-8614653
GPN : 27230
E-mail: fongm@searo.who.int
!
The Ahsar Alo Society as part of the
PLHIV network in organizing divisional
workshops with HIV infected and affected
women with support from UNAIDS.
UN Partnerships
!
The Joint Programme in Addressing VAW
brings together nine UN Agencies (UNFPA,
UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNWomen, UNESCO,
WHO, ILO, IOM, and UNDP) as “One
UN” to address collectively GBV in
Bangladesh.
Produced by:
Gender, Women and Health (GWH)
Department of Family Health and Research
World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia
World Health House, Indraprastha Estate
Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110002
Phone: 91 11 23370804, Ext 26301
Fax: 91-11-23379507, 23379395, 23370197
Email: suchaxayap@searo.who.int